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SERIES BUILDERSpiritual Formation: An Annotated BibliographyHelpful resources for sermon preparationBrandon O'Brien
After two years of college and just over a year in my first pastorate, I couldn't take the pastor stereotype. I'd had too many people seal up emotionally upon my being introduced as "Brother Brandon." I resented being associated with the ministers of my youth who barked commandments and displayed very little humanity. I left that pastorate doubting my faith and my calling. Then this southern fundamentalist dropout met an aging European Catholic priest.
Nouwen's The Wounded Healer spoke directly to my situation. He wrote (in 1979, remarkably) that this generation is historically dislocated, ideologically fragmented, and in search of immortality. As a result, the minister who will reach this generation must be able to articulate the inward life, he must be compassionate, and he must be contemplative—a wounded healer. Only then will a minister be the vessel of forgiveness, "because forgiveness is only real for him who has discovered the weakness of his friends and the sins of his enemy in his own heart and is willing to call every human being his brother" (41). I finished in tears and confident that I might yet be ministry material.
The wounded healer Nouwen describes is the minister who has been transformed through intentional spiritual formation. Many pastors are voicing his vision for spiritual formation today, so we compiled this annotated bibliography as an introduction and guide to those of you hoping to convey a vision for spiritual formation in your sermons.
These resources are organized by type. The first set is theological or theoretical in nature and provides a biblical explanation of spiritual formation and the spiritual disciplines. Dedicated primarily to the disciplines, the second set is more practical and focuses on application of the theory outlined in the first set. Next, we've selected two resources that address the ways spiritual formation will affect preaching and ministry particularly. In the final section, we included two classics in spiritual formation and a list of books for further reading.
We are indebted to the following pastors and professors for their book recommendations: Kent Carlson and Mike Lueken (pastors of Oakhills Church in Folsom, California); Skye Jethani (teaching pastor of Blanchard Alliance Church in Wheaton, Illinois); Barrett McRay, Tom Schwanda, Scottie May, and James Wilhoit (professors in the Christian Formation and Ministry M.A. program at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois); and J. K. Jones (Associate Dean of Christian Ministries at Lincoln Christian College in Lincoln, Illinois).
We've tried to present the best resources from a range of perspectives. In other words, though we are not putting our unqualified stamp of approval on books or authors, we do think each book here offers valuable insights for sermon preparation or the art of preaching.
We pray these resources will breathe new life into your ministry.
Theory
Renovation of the Heart by Dallas Willard
Invitation to a Journey by Robert Mulholland
Practice
The Spirit of the Disciplines by Dallas Willard
Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster
Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald Whitney
Ministry
Conformed to His Image by Kenneth Boa
In the Name of Jesus by Henri Nouwen
The Classics
Spiritual Classics by Richard Foster and Emilie Griffin
The Treasury of Christian Spiritual Classics by Timothy Weber
For Further Reading
Brandon O'Brien is assistant editor of PreachingToday.com. 1 of 1
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